Device for counting coins in transparent tubular coin containers



1966 G. H. THOMPSON 3,

DEVICE FOR COUNTING COINS IN TRANSPARENT TUBULAR COIN CONTAINERS Filed Feb. 17, 1965 1 NVEN TOR. Gama/v1; H. THOMPSON AGENT United States Patent 3,277,905 DEVICE FOR COUNTING COINS IN TRANSPAR- ENT TUBULAR COIN CONTAINERS Garland H. Thompson, 345 IE. Santa Anita, Burbank, Calif. Filed Feb. 17, 1965, Ser. No. 433,446 2 Claims. (Cl. 133-8) The invention herein described pertains to coin counters, and more particularly to a device resembling a fountain pen in appearance that may be used for counting coins that are placed in tubes, as is commonly done by coin collectors.

Various time-saving arrangements have been provided in the past whereby the number of coins in a transparent container may be visually determined without actually counting the coins. One such arrangement is to provide the transparent container with vertically spaced horizontal calibrations accompanied by suitable numerals to show the number of coins required to reach the various levels which the calibrations indicate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that will rapidly indicate the number of coins in any tubular coin container, regardless of whether the coins are pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the type described that may be carried in the pocket after the manner of a fountain pen or mechanical pencil.

A further object is to provide the device with means whereby the plunger necessarily associated with such a device will always engage the coins at an angle that is absolutely perpendicular thereto.

An additional object is to provide such a device with a 4-sided plunger, each of the sides being independently calibrated for selective use for pennies, nickels, dimes, or quarters, the calibrations cooperating with a stationary indicator.

Another object is to provide a reference plane or surface on the underside of arms that may extend outward from the main body of the device when it is in use, the said arms when not in use lying vertically against the plunger that protrudes from the lower end thereof.

A further object is to provide means for limiting the angular movement of the arms when they are to be moved to an operating position.

Another object is to provide a device of the type described that will be inexpensive to build and yet at the same time durable and dependable.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of illustrative embodiments thereof. For this purpose, such embodiments are shown in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the present specification. These embodiments will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of the invention is best defined by the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of the device with the external parts properly arranged for positioning the device in the pocket of the user;

FIG. 2 shows the device in use for counting the coins "ice in a container, the container itself being shown in vertical section;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section taken substantially on line 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a section on line 44 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a section taken substantially on line 55 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is a section taken substantially on line 6-6 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the pivotal end of the horizontally extendable arms in their inoperative position, as illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary enlarged view similar to FIG. 7, but showing the pivotal ends of the arms oriented to their operative position as illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 9 is a section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a section taken on line Iii-10 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 11 is a front elevation, similar to FIG. 1, but showing in a cut-away view an alternative embodiment of the invention.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the instant invention, the coin counting device, excepting for its lower part, resembles a fountain pen or mechanical penoil. The device 11 comprises a housing 12 and a plunger 13, FIG. 3, whose upper end 27 protrudes from the top of the housing and whose lower end 14 protrudes from the bottom. Two arms 20 and 21 are pivoted to the housing 12 on pins 19. When the device is not in use, as when being carried in the pocket or in a wallet or purse, these arms are folded down against the lower end 14 of the plunger as shown in FIG. 1.

When the device is to be used for determining the number of coins in a container, the cap of the container, which may be of the type shown in the co-pending application Serial No. 193,105, now abandoned, is first removed.' The arms 20 and 21 are then rotated outwardly and upwardly to the positions shown in FIG. 2. In this position, their lower surfaces 28 and 29 respectively are constrained, by means hereinafter to be described, in longitudinal alignment. The lower protruding end 14 of the plunger is then inserted into the container where it will engage the top surface of the coins 23. The device 11 is then pressed downward, causing the upper end 27 of the plunger to extend a distance above the housing that is determined by the number of coins in the container.

In the presently preferred embodiment of the device, the upper end 27 of the plunger is polygonal in crosssection, the actual number of sides being predetermined by the number of coins commonly in use in the coinage system for which the particular device is intended. If it is anticipated that the device will be used for United States coins, the upper end 27 of the plunger may be provided with four sides. Coin collectors, even of amateur standing, do not mix the denominations of coins in a given container, and a device intended for use in connection with the coins that are presently current in the United States would therefore have four sides, 27a, 27b, 27c, and 27d, each independently calibrated for pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters. The particular calibration 32 coming into alignment with the top surface 30 of the cap 31 indicates the number of coins of that particular denomination that are pushing the plunger upwardly.

The presently preferred internal structure of the device is shown in FIG. 3. It will be observed here that the interior of the housing 12 has a shoulder 17 that divides the space within the housing into a wide chamber 33 and a portion at the top that is reduced in width to form ways 34 acting as a longitudinal bearing for the plunger. If the portion of the plunger that passes through the narrow section 34 is square, this portion of the opening within the chamber must of course likewise be square. If the plunger is round, this narrowed internal portion of the housing should likewise be round, but if the peripheral configuration of the plunger is such that it must be constrained against rotation, a suitable variation must be provided in the contour of the inner wall of the housing.

In the presently preferred embodiment, a disc 15 is provided at the juncture of the wide upper portion of the plunger and its preferably round lower portion 14, which protrudes through a round aperture in the base 18 of the housing. A compression spring 16 expands between the shoulder 17 and the disc 15, urging the disc toward the bottom of the housing.

It has already been mentioned that means are provided for so limiting the upward rotation of the arms 20 and 21 that their lower surfaces 28 and 29 will be in longitudinal alignment. This may be accomplished in a variety of ways, two of which are illustrated in the drawings. The purpose of this, of course, is to position the housing of the device in a definite position with respect to the actual surface upon which the coins are resting when a reading is being taken, it being assumed that the device will always be used with coin-containers in which this surface is a uniform fixed distance from the top edge of the containers. The engagement of the lower edges 28 and 29 of the arms with the top edge of r the container effects this required precise positioning of the device. This is illustrated not only in FIG. 2 but also in FIG. 10 where the lower edge 29 of the arm 21 is shown abutting against the top edge of the container 22.

In the structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the stops that limit the upward movement of the arms are provided by the contour of the pivoting ends of the arms. In the particular embodiment here illustrated, the arms are pivoted at a point below the surfaces that engage the top of the container. The arms must be appropriately shaped to make this relationship possible. They must either be smoothly contoured upwardly between the part thereof where the pivot 19 is located and the portion of the lower edges 28 and 29 that engage the rim of the container, or there must be an abrupt change in the contour as shown in FIG. 2, where the arms are formed with lugs that extend downwardly to provide a special portion for receiving the pivoting pins 19. These lugs, or extreme side ends of the arm, straddle the housing, as illustrated in FIG. 6. Arm 21 is cut back as indicated in FIGS. 2 and 6 to permit the interposition of the housing, and the location of the edge 26that is, the edge of the cutbackis such that it will engage the side of the housing when the lower surface 29 of the arm is perpendicular to the edge of the housing.

The same arrangement is of course provided for arm 21, where the edge 25 of the cutback is shown in engagement with the side of the housing.

FIGS. 7, 8 and 9 show an alternative embodiment in which detents are provided for yieldingly holding the arms selectively in their inoperative positions illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 7, or in their operative positions illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 8. As shown in FIG. 9, the lugs 37 of arm 21 have indentations 39 and 39a therein to receive the nodes 40 and 40a that are embossed or otherwise appropriately formed on the inner surface of the lug 38 of arm 20. When the nodes 40 and 49a snap into the depressions 39 and 39a, respectively, under the pressure of the resilient material from which the arms are formed, the arms are detented in the positions indicated in FIGS. 1 and 7 where they are folded down protectively against the plunger 14.

When the arms are rotated upwardly from the inoperative positions shown in FIG. 1 to the operative positions shown in FIG. 2, the flanges 37 and 38 will each of course move through an arc of This will position the depressions as well as the nodes in a vertical relationship, but inasmuch as the arms rotate in respectively opposite rotative directions, the node 4011 that previously rested in the depression 39a will then rest in the depression 39, while the node 40 will rest in depression 39a.

When the plunger is inserted in the container and placed in contact with the coins 23, the plunger will of course be forced upwardly against the action of the spring 16, the number of coins in the container determining the distance that the top of the plunger will protrude above the top surface 30 of the housing.

FIG. 11 illustrates an embodiment in which the plunger, here designated as 14a, is normally yieldingly retained in a retracted position. As in the structure illustrated in FIG. 3, a disc is integrally secured to the plunger at the junction of the calibrated upper section and the portion that is surrounded by the spring; but in this modification, the spring 16a expands between the disc 15a and the bottom 41 of the bore or recess within the housing. The disc 15a is accordingly urged upwardly against the shoulder 17a in the housing.

The upper section 127 of the plunger may of course be polygonal, with the various sides calibrated for the particular denominations of coins for which the device is intended. When using this form of the invention, the arms 20a. and 21a are placed in engagement with the upper edge of the coin container, as previously explained in connection with the embodiment hereinbefore described; but in this species of the invention, the device and the arms do not have to be held down. The device is operated by pressing downward on the upper end of the plunger until its lower end engages the coins. number of such coins will of course determine the distance that the upper part of the plunger protrudes above the upper end of the housing of the device, as in the previously described embodiment, and the number of coins in the container may be read on the appropriate calibration.

The housing 12 of either embodiment may be provided with a clip 36 similar to those currently used on fountain pens and mechanical pencils. This clip may have a ring 35 at the top which may be integral with the cap 31, or, alternatively, the inside of the cap 31 may be supplied with female threads to mesh with cooperating male threads on the reduced upper end of the housing. Such threads are not shown as they form no part of this invention per se.

The invention hereinbefore described may of course be embodied in other forms, and the various parts and components may be modified or transposed, or even omitted and replaced by other components performing respectively the same functions or the same functions plus additional functionsall without departing from the broad spirit of the invention as succinctly set forth in the appended claims.

The inventor claims:

1. A device for determining the number of coins in a tubular coin container, said device comprising: an elongated member having a chamber longitudinally disposed therein; a plunger so mounted in said member for rectilinear movement that it may protrude from both ends of the member simultaneously, said plunger having calibrations so disposed thereon that the portion of the plunger bearing the calibrations may protrude from one end only of said member; abutting means on the exterior of said member for engagement with the edges of an open tubular coin container when the end of said plunger that is the more remote from said calibrations is urged The into engagement with the top surface of the coins in said container, said abutting means comprising a pair of elongated arms so pivoted to said member that they may be folded against the plunger or spread outwardly; and indicating means associated with said member for cooperation with said calibrations to indicate the relative positions of said indicating means and said calibrations when the last mentioned end of the plunger is engaging the coins while the abutting means is engaging the top edge of the container.

2. The device set forth in claim 1 with the addition of means for yieldingly holding said arms selectively in either their folded or their outwardly spread positions.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,459,896 6/ 1923 John. 2,645,397 7/1953 McCalick et al. 13 8 2,654,156 10/1953 Boyer 33172 2,689,408 9/1954 Cornell et a1. 2,789,356 4/1957 Blanks. 3,085,378 4/1963 Howard. 3,171,278 3/1965 Howard.

ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

STANLEY H. TOLLBERG, LOUIS I. DEMBO,

Examiners. 

1. A DEVICE FOR DETERMINING THE NUMBER OF COINS IN A TUBULAR COIN CONTAINER, SAID DEVICE COMPRISING: AN ELONGATED MEMBER HAVING A CHAMBER LONGITUDINALLY DISPOSED THEREIN; A PLUNGER SO MOUNTED IN SAID MEMBER FOR RECTILINEAR MOVEMENT THAT IT MAY PROTRUDE FROM BOTH ENDS OF THE MEMBER SIMULTANEOUSLY, SAID PLUNGER HAVING CALIBRATIONS SO DISPOSED THEREON THAT THE PORTION OF THE PLUNGER BEARING THE CALIBRATIONS MAY PROTRUDE FROM ONE END ONLY OF SAID MEMBER; ABUTTING MEANS ON THE EXTERIOR OF SAID MEMBER FOR ENGAGEMENT WITH THE EDGES OF AN OPEN TUBULAR COIN CONTAINER WHEN THE END OF SAID PLUNGER THAT IS THE MORE REMOTE FROM SAID CALIBRATIONS IS URGED INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE TOP SURFACE OF THE COINS IN SAID CONTAINER, SAID ABUTTING MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED ARMS SO PIVOTED TO SAID MEMBER THAT THEY MAY BE FOLDED AGAINST THE PLUNGER OR SPREAD OUTWARDLY; AND INDICATING MEANS ASSOCIATED WITH SAID MEMBER FOR COOPERATION WITH SAID CALIBRATIONS TO INDICATE THE RELATIVE POSITIONS OF SAID INDICATING MEANS AND SAID CALIBRATIONS WHEN THE LAST MENTIONED END OF THE PLUNGER IS ENGAGING THE COINS WHILE THE ABUTTING MEANS IS ENGAGING THE TOP EDGE OF THE CONTAINER. 